Three Sisters Layby (A82)
If you've seen a photograph of Glen Coe, chances are it was taken from here. The Three Sisters layby sits on the south side of the A82, directly opposite the trio of ridges — Beinn Fhada, Gearr Aonach, and Aonach Dubh — that define the valley's most dramatic profile. It's free, it's unmissable, and therein lies the problem: with space for roughly 20 cars, this roadside pull-in fills by 10 am on any decent summer morning. By midday in July and August, you'll see vehicles wedged onto verges and photographers spilling onto the carriageway.
There are no toilets, no bins, and no barriers between you and the A82 — a fast, winding trunk road where lorries and campervans barrel through at 60 mph. Keep children close, and never cross the road without clear sightlines in both directions. If the layby is full when you arrive, drive on; the Visitor Centre is only two minutes further west, and you can always loop back later when a space opens up.
Glencoe Visitor Centre (NTS)
Operated by the National Trust for Scotland, the Glencoe Visitor Centre sits just off the A82 at the western mouth of the glen and is well signed from either direction. The car park is the largest in the valley — comfortably holding 50-plus vehicles — and charges around £3 per visit (free if you're an NTS member, so have your card ready at the machine). For that modest fee you get proper toilets, a decent cafe serving soup and home baking, and a small but worthwhile exhibition on the geology, ecology, and human history of Glen Coe, including the 1692 massacre.
More importantly for walkers, the Visitor Centre is the starting point for several routes: the short loop through Signal Rock woodland, the path to Glencoe Lochan, and longer approaches into the Aonach Eagach ridge. Think of it as the sensible basecamp — a place to regroup, refuel, and plan your next move. When every other car park in the glen is full, there's almost always space here.
Lost Valley (Coire Gabhail) Car Park
The Lost Valley is one of the Highlands' finest short hill walks — a hidden hanging valley tucked between Gearr Aonach and Aonach Dubh where the MacDonalds of Glencoe once concealed stolen cattle from rival clans. The dedicated car park, managed by NTS, sits just off the A82 roughly a mile east of the Visitor Centre. It holds around 15 cars and costs £3.
Here's the catch: the Lost Valley is enormously popular, and 15 spaces is nothing. On summer weekends the car park is routinely full before 9 am. If you arrive to find it packed, do not park on the road — the A82 verges here are soft peat and boggy grass, and you risk a recovery bill as well as a fine. Instead, drive to the Glencoe Visitor Centre, park there, and walk back along the old road. It adds about 20 minutes each way, but it's a pleasant flat stroll with river views, and it keeps your blood pressure where it should be.
Clachaig Inn
The Clachaig is a Glen Coe institution — a walkers' pub with three bars, live music on weekends, and a beer garden framed by the Pap of Glencoe. Its car park is strictly for patrons. If you're stopping for lunch, a pint of real ale, or an overnight stay, you're welcome to leave your car while you eat and drink. But the Clachaig is not a free trailhead car park, and the staff will notice if you shoulder a rucksack and disappear up the hill without darkening the door first. Play fair — the pub has been looking after hillwalkers since the 1800s, and the least you can do is buy a bowl of cullen skink before heading out.
An Torr / Signal Rock Car Park
Tucked away on a minor road south of Glencoe village, the An Torr car park is a small, free NTS facility that serves as the gateway to two gentle low-level walks. Signal Rock — the spot where, according to tradition, a signal fire was lit to trigger the Glencoe massacre — is a 20-minute woodland loop suitable for families and pushchairs. From the same car park you can also reach Glencoe Lochan, an artificial lake surrounded by Scots pine and spruce with a beautiful 45-minute circuit and views across to the Pap of Glencoe. Neither walk is strenuous, and the car park rarely fills completely, even in high summer. A good fallback when the main valley car parks are heaving.
Altnafeadh (Head of Glen Coe)
At the eastern end of the glen, where the A82 crests the pass beneath Buachaille Etive Mor, an informal gravel area at Altnafeadh provides free parking for roughly 10 cars. This is wild, exposed, magnificent country — the great pyramid of the Buachaille towers directly above you, and the old Kingshouse Hotel sits across the empty moor. Altnafeadh is the starting point for two classic routes: the ascent of Buachaille Etive Mor via Coire na Tulaich (a serious Munro requiring hillwalking experience, proper gear, and good weather) and the Devil's Staircase, the old military road that zigzags over the pass to Kinlochleven and forms one of the most scenic sections of the West Highland Way.
The parking area is unsigned and unmanaged. In winter, the road here can be closed by snow, and the gravel surface turns to sheet ice. Check Traffic Scotland before driving up, and carry a shovel and tow rope if you're visiting between November and March.
Kinlochleven
Sitting at the head of Loch Leven, the former aluminium-smelting village of Kinlochleven has reinvented itself as an outdoor hub — home to the Ice Factor climbing centre, a good spread of B&Bs, and some surprisingly excellent food. There are several free car parks dotted around the village centre; the main one is on Riverside Road near the Ice Factor. From Kinlochleven you can walk to the Grey Mare's Tail, a spectacular 60-metre waterfall reached by a 30-minute path through birch woodland. The village is also the springboard for routes into the Mamores, a long ridge of Munros running east to west above the south shore of Loch Leven. And if you're walking the West Highland Way, you'll pass through here on the penultimate day before the final push to Fort William.
Fort William
The unofficial capital of the outdoor Highlands has plenty of parking, but it's all pay and display, and in summer the central car parks fill by late morning. The most convenient option for the town centre is the West End car park on the north side of the High Street, handy for shops, restaurants, and the tourist information centre. For longer stays — or if you're heading out to Glen Nevis — use the An Aird car park at the south end of town, which offers long-stay rates and is only a five-minute walk from the centre. On busy weekends, the Nevis Range car park (seven miles north on the A82) works well if you want to combine a mountain walk with a gondola ride up Aonach Mor.
Practical Tips
Arrive early.In July and August, the most popular car parks — Three Sisters layby, the Lost Valley, Altnafeadh — are full by 9 am. Plan to be parked and booted up by 8:30 at the latest, or accept that you'll need the Visitor Centre as your fallback.
Visit midweek. Saturday and Sunday bring the heaviest traffic to the glen. Tuesday to Thursday is noticeably quieter, even at the height of summer. If your schedule allows it, save the weekend for a rest day in Fort William and hit the trails when everyone else is at work.
Campervans and motorhomes.Glen Coe's car parks are small, and a seven-metre campervan takes up two spaces. Use designated motorhome areas — the Red Squirrel campsite at Glencoe and the Caledonian Sleeper car park at Tyndrum both welcome day visitors. Never overnight in a layby; it is increasingly subject to enforcement, and a ticket takes the shine off any sunrise.
Never block passing places. On single-track roads — the minor roads off the A82, the road to Glencoe Lochan, the back road to Kinlochleven — passing places are not parking spaces. Blocking one forces oncoming traffic to reverse, sometimes for hundreds of metres on narrow lanes. It is dangerous, illegal, and will earn you the quiet fury of every local farmer.
Stay off the verges.Scotland's roadside verges may look solid, but they are often soft peat over rock. Drive onto one and you may sink to your axles — we've seen rental cars stuck up to their doors on the A82 more times than we can count. Repeated parking on verges also destroys ground cover and causes erosion that takes years to heal. If there is no space, there is no space. Move on, come back later, or try a different car park. The glen isn't going anywhere.